Empowering farmers
As a global brewer, we depend on high-quality agricultural crops to brew our beers. That’s why we support the livelihoods of farming communities worldwide, working with over 35,000 direct farmers across 13 countries and five continents to grow natural ingredients — including barley, corn, rice, hops, sorghum and cassava — that allow us to brew the best beers.
By supporting our direct farmers to be skilled, connected and financially empowered, we are helping them improve their productivity, their profitability, and their efficient use of natural resources, such as soil and water. We believe research, knowledge, technology and financing are the key to transforming agriculture at scale. We leverage these to advance agricultural development and measure our impact through yields, resource-efficiency, soil health and smallholder incomes.
Research and Technology
Our flagship platform, SmartBarley, was launched in 2013. SmartBarley leverages data, technology and insights to help more than 5,000 enrolled farmers improve their productivity and environmental performance. Today, SmartBarley is present in over 12 countries across five continents. We are committed to being at the forefront of malting barley research to help our farmers improve yields and reduce the resources they use. We have our own Research and Development center headquartered in the United States and more than 150 dedicated agronomists and researchers across the world who develop high-quality seeds and share best practices with farmers.
Local for Local
Beer is predominantly produced and consumed locally. Local sourcing remains a critical part of our business model in most of our key markets. We want to secure a resilient and high-quality supply of crops for decades to come. For example, our businesses in Africa have pioneered the use of undercommercialized local crops to create new affordable beer brands — like Eagle Lager, made with local sorghum in Uganda, and Impala, made with local cassava in Mozambique. This allows us to reach new consumers while increasing incomes for local smallholder farmers.
Partnering for Success
Because challenges in agriculture cannot be solved alone, we partner with a wide range of collaborators, including universities, tech start-ups, NGOs, governments and businesses. We depend on our farmers, and we are committed to catalyzing sustainable transformation — securing our supply chains, improving farmer livelihoods, and strengthening natural ecosystems — now and for the next 100+ years.
[1] We have defined a “direct farmer” as a farmer who has signed a contract with us or who supplies us via a local cooperative or aggregator. We work with over 35,000 direct farmers across 13 countries and 5 continents to tackle challenges big and small. Together, we're improving lives and protecting natural resources around the world.
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